Creative Nomad Jukebox Zen Xtra **UPDATED WITH REVIEW**

Yup, another mp3 player thread, sorry. I\'ve been looking for a good one lately and reading reviews, analysis, comparing prices, etc... The conclusion I\'ve reached is that I like very much the Creative Nomad Jukebox Zen Xtra 30gb, both for its price (329€) and its quality (great reviews, Read IGN review)
But I wanna know if any of you has this player, how the battery works, the software... you know, a personal objective commentary. Thx.

I\'m looking to buy one as well (60GB version).

It\'s got so much more value than an iPod. The iPod looks a lot cooler though and the menu system and interaction part is easier, and it\'s smaller than the Zen. But that doesn\'t justify it\'s ludicrous price point and the fact that the battery dies after 18 months and is a bitch to replace. So I\'ve decided to buy a Zen Xtra instead.

I have an early Nomad Jukebox, and I would reccomend you make sure they have put better hardware in those ones..

With mine, you have to stop playback of 128, 192, or 256 mp3s before you try to navigate the menu, or it lags horribly.

I havent read anything about that Fatal... serious mistake though, I hope the new ones have solved that bug.

Originally posted by JP
I\'m looking to buy one as well (60GB version).

It\'s got so much more value than an iPod. The iPod looks a lot cooler though and the menu system and interaction part is easier, and it\'s smaller than the Zen. But that doesn\'t justify it\'s ludicrous price point and the fact that the battery dies after 18 months and is a bitch to replace. So I\'ve decided to buy a Zen Xtra instead.

I beg to differ.  Apple\'s replacement plan is absolutely spectacular when it comes to the iPod.  If ANYTHING goes wrong with it, they fix\\replace it.  I had a battery problem where the unit would overheat and apple didn\'t just replace the battery, they replaced the entire unit without question and sent my friend a replacement remote since his stopped working, no questions asked.  Being a "bitch" to replace only makes sense if you yourself are trying to crack the thing open and replace it yourself, but why waste the money on that when, inside of a business week, marring shipping of course, you can have it replaced professionaly and without fault.

As for your other comments, being lighter, a great menu interface, the interaction, the smaller design, the compatibility and ease of use with iTunes and just about any mp3 under the sun and apple\'s own proprietary format when downloaded off the iTunes store, I don\'t see how those things don\'t justify the price as they are the quintisential elements that make a piece of hardware worth the investment.  I don\'t want to spend less on something that is sub par and a pain to work with when the quality of the iPod and its ease of use is already established and a bonified fact.

Of course though, that\'s just experience talking.  Buy whatever floats your boat, but my money is with the iPod on this one after a year of use.  Oh, and that warranty I spoke of goes on for another two years as of this past February and they mail out the packages for the iPod to be placed in when you need a repair all done through Apple\'s website which arrives the next day.  Just FYI.

I\'ve read so many complaints about the iPod\'s battery and it being a bitch when you send it in for service. A lot of batteries die shortly after that magic 18 months (which is very short IMO) and then you\'re screwed unless you take a chance of opening it up yourself.

Also, one of my friends who is a total mac nut tried sending his in for service when his broke down. Took 2 months before he got it back. Now, he might have just been unlucky but I\'ve read about so many people that are frustrated with the service and the whole battery issue.

The Zen Xtra according to most reviews has a good menu system, largest capacity available for an mp3 player, looks more than good enough, easy to replace battery, better sound (it\'s a fact, shouldn\'t be much of a surprise considering Creative is the manufacturer) and the 60GB is a lot cheaper than the iPod 40GB. I don\'t see a problem here if I decide to buy a Zen instead of an iPod.

Unlike some other people on this board, I think about value all the time, getting the most out of my money. And there is no hdd mp3 player out there atm which offers greater value in my personal opinion.

I\'ve never once had a problem with Apple and their replacement plan or their service.  Everytime that I\'ve sent it in, it has come back newer\\better then it was before.  People may complain, a lot of people, but think of the PS2 -- lots of people complain about that, but admit the fact that its installed base is huge allowing for more problems just as the iPod has a huge install base.  Whatever though.

You call it shopping for value, I call it shopping for quality.  You should know, if you\'re shopping for value, that all customer complaints are purely subjective, warranties can be renewed, and things can break all the time for no reason at all and the iPod, Zen jukebox, Honda cars, and water heaters are not exempt from these facts.  It is your money to do with as you please, it just sounds like people are doing a lot of convincing for themselves based on the lowliest of experiences when it comes to buying something instead of the iPod and I just don\'t see why that is.  

There must be a reason why the iPod sells so well after this long and I don\'t think it\'s because of its rugged good looks -- or maybe it is?  

The difference here is though, I haven\'t heard people complain as much about the Zens as they have about iPods. So Zens most probably are just as good quality. Quality and lower price = value to me. Yes, I\'m not getting a touch sensitive interface but I can live without that.

I\'m not saying that iPod is just good looks but it\'s got some major faults with the battery situation, that\'s the number one thing that makes me not want one and the second most important thing is that I want at least 60GB for all my cds.

[Living-In-Clip]

That\'s an awful plain looking mini-Ipod....err..you mean its NOT an Ipod?
Oh...that explains it.

Be careful LiC, it\'s creative after all.  

If you buy an iPod, you have to also buy a $40.00 docking unit and a $20.00 cable to make it combatible with USB 2.0.    

I hate Apple so much.  They just have this attitude that "Our way is the right way, so f**k you.  Firewire is better, so that\'s what it\'s designed for.  We\'ll make an add-on device to allow you to use USB 2.0, but it\'s going to cost you extra...."     What kind of company penalizes their customers for wanting to use the most common PC data transfer standard around?  Totally bizarre if you ask me.  But it was designed for Mac users right, so screwing the PC users makes them happy.

Shit like this makes me want to go out of my way to avoid buying an Apple product.  Fortunately it\'s not out of my way because the competing products offer more bang for the buck.  

That\'s if you gun for the 15gb version -- the 20 and 40 include all that you say it lacks.

I stand corrected.  However, you\'re not entirely correct either.  None of the iPod models come with the USB cable.  That\'s $20.00 extra.

The mini includes the USB cable you are referring to while the standard does not as far as I can tell, but it\'s possible that it does include it as the packages have changed a bit since I bought mine.  I had firewire so the point was moot for me at the time.

Who cares how it looks anyway? It\'s supposed to be in your pocket most of the time anyway.